Govt ready to offload extra 2.5 mn tons of FCI wheat

New Delhi: The government is ready to offload additional 2.5 million tonnes of FCI wheat to bulk consumers during January-March 2024, under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS), in order to boost domestic supply and check price rise, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Friday.

In May this year, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the government’s nodal agency for procurement and distribution of grains, was given a mandate to sell wheat from the central pool to bulk consumers through an e-auction under OMSS throughout the fiscal except during procurement period in wheat growing States. Briefing the media, the Food Secretary said so far 4.46 million tonnes has been offloaded by FCI to processors through weekly e-auctions.